The Jade Princess
by Magical Squids
Summary: While Artemis was in Limbo, what did Juliet get up to in America? Trouble, that's what. Lots and lots of trouble... And she became friends with Grissom! Isn't that brilliant? Sorry, this is a very un-summary summary.
1. Murder At Night

_The ring was empty. Quiet. A perfect place for murder. _

_The silence shattered as the double doors clattered open, the escapee dashing through the room at full speed...or at least as fast as he could go with a gaping hole in his back. The hole in question was oddly numb. A few minutes ago he didn't have time to worry about the gory mess, but now, with the prospect of escape so close, pain ebbed away at the back of his mind and he had to keep running so he could stop himself screaming. Was his attacker following him? No, surely he would have heard. _

_After what seemed like an age, but in reality could have been only seconds, he reeled out the emergency door like a haggard drunk. Great. Now he just needed to force himself to get out into the street and – _

_A gunshot tore down through the air from above._

* * *

><p>"Stab wound to the back. Bruising here, obviously result of a struggle." Doc Robbins looked up at the night shift supervisor. "The bullet killed him, as the head would suggest."<p>

"A messy killing." Grissom frowned, his frame casting a shadow upon the body under the fluorescent lights of the autopsy room. "It seems personal. Stab wound, beating and a bullet to the head?"

"Ex-wife?" Doc suggested.

"Maybe." Grissom moved the body's stiff neck and frowned. "Doc?"

"I thought you'd notice that." Robbins nodded. "He was shot from above. The bullet lodged in his chin."

Grissom withdrew his hand grimly. "Looks like the ex-wife got lucky."


	2. Juliet

_Juliet,_

_I thought I'd write this time to see how you are. Sorry about the bill last time. I forgot my little sister can't afford international calls anymore – Angeline told me. Before you pick up the phone and tell me just how many long distance minutes you can afford to prove me wrong, it's fine. This is your way of letting go...which is why I'm not writing in code, as we used to. There's no need for that anymore._

_ That mentioned, I've found a place on the coast of England. I've got a beard growing in too – and wipe that smirk off your face, soldier! This place is...different, though. Peaceful. And I got the present too – if you ever tell anyone about my reading materials, Juliet, sister or not I will hunt you down and there'll be no custom shurikens for your next birthday! But thanks anyway._

_ The twins are taking after the family. Myles learned the word 'recluse'. He's astute for a one year-old – he's got the genius genes. Beckett, surprisingly, is a lot like you...well, when you were that age. Remember the sandbox when you were four? I taught you the tricks of the solar plexus and from then on we all suffered. You seemed happy, though. I hope you're happy where you are, Juliet. Are you on the road to Las Vegas yet? We're always on opposite sides of the world. _

_ How was your visit to Chicago? Remember when you brought Artemis? Sorry for bringing it up, but you both had a good time. And don't worry. He'll come back, and I'll be waiting._

_ D._

Juliet frowned as she scanned through the last paragraph again. _What? Why would he bring that up? _She almost face-palmed. Of course she remembered Chicago and Artemis! They'd played tug-o-war throughout the few days they'd spent together – she'd wanted to go shopping, he'd wanted more 'civilised ventures'. Artemis...Artemis was gone, and she wasn't in Chicago, and how the heck was Dom going to bring him back this time? It had been a year already.

"Uh...a year," she grumbled, massaging the circles underneath her eyes. Needless to say, her life wasn't exactly turning out as she planned. Despite her prodigal skills in the business, she was hardly recognised yet in the wrestling community. This was mostly because of what happened when she was eighteen. She'd just finished secondary school in Ireland for good (a drastic change in location compared to Madame Ko's Acadamy). It was summer. She was preparing to leave to find her place in America's wrestling circle. Artemis and her brother were meant to be in Spain. But Artemis never came back. It didn't seem like he'd ever come back.

"Hey, Juli-eeeeeet!" Millie 'Medusa' Mallo moaned from her bed. "What time's it?"

"One o'clock." Juliet grinned. There were three of them in the room – Medusa, Cyclone and her, the Jade Princess. Ramona (Cyclone) didn't look like she'd be waking up anytime soon. Drink, sex and more drink could do that to a girl. Juliet's headache had disintegrated after she'd balanced a glass of ice cold water on her forehead. It was an old trick she'd made sure to glean from her brother when she turned eighteen (before that she put up with the headaches like everyone else...).

Millie moaned. "Fuck, I'm tired. When do we have to move?"

Juliet laughed, dragging a comb through her hair. "We should've been up thirty minutes ago, but Max drunk himself under the table last night. Call it a reprieve." Max was the ring manager, organiser, everything. The guy was a saint, but held his liquor about as well as Ramona (in other words, not well at all).

"Think I have time for a shower?"

"Sure. Knock yourself out, babes."

Millie snorted, half-falling, half-dragging herself out of bed. "I'll leave that to you later tonight. Is your ponytail made of iron or _what_?"

Juliet's smile weakened. She'd gone overboard at one of their matches. She'd hit Millie with the jade ring hidden in her ponytail and subsequently the girl was out for an hour. It'd been an accident – albeit an embarrassing accident. But she wasn't going to let Millie beat her – no one beat her.

Ignoring Millie's question, Juliet stood and smiled dangerously. "Hey, Mills?"

"Yup." Millie rooted through her wardrobe for a towel.

"You wanna mess with Ram's eardrums?"

Millie paused. She turned, and her smile was of the same nature as her colleague's. "What did you have in mind?"

* * *

><p>"Look, I dunno who'd want to kill the guy. I only know him through business." Ryan Matthews sighed, watching as Sara and Warrick processed the scene.<p>

Grissom frowned. "How often would you contact him?"

"Eh...once a month, two months." Matthews shrugged. "Andrews made sure my shares got to me, sent over the accounts on time...I manage four other venues. This one is doing good business; no shifty stuff here, Mr Grissom, if that's what you're looking for. I never paid much attention. I'm sure Andrews had his flaws, but he managed the place well. I can't imagine why anyone would..."

Grissom let Mr Matthews take a breath, then pressed on. "We have a warrant for your theatre, Mr Matthews. Your partner was shot at a distance, from above, and we'll need to search the rooms. I thought you should know that before we question your...guests?"

Matthews nodded nervously. "Yes, travelling shows come and go all the time – we have rooms made ready for them."

"Currently hosting a wrestling group?"

"That sounds about right."

Grissom raised an eyebrow. Matthews seemed to be telling the truth – he didn't keep tabs on this place; at least, not detailed ones. But still... "So, you didn't know Mr Andrews at all? You have no idea as to why someone would kill him?"

Matthews shook his head. "No, no. Well...I mean, there were a few complaints. As good a business man as he was, he wasn't the politest host on the planet...but I don't think he'd ever do something that could..." The landowner trailed off, at a loss.

"Thanks for your help, Mister Matthews."

Matthews nodded. "Yes...yes, thank you for doing this."

Grissom shrugged, slipping under the police tape. "It's my job."

"We've got nothing new here, Grissom," Warrick said, giving the ground a quick glance over.

"Yeah, and blood spatter is consistent with what Doc says. The bullet came from up there." Sara pointed to the windows on the second floor, far above their heads. It was a theatre, after all.

"Great. The centre window, presumably. The bullet went straight down, and it lodged in his chin." Grissom nodded to the emergency exit door. The body had been recovered right outside. "The body was found here, so the only view able to support the angle is that one up there."

Sara stood. "Well, let's go see who slept through that shooting."

* * *

><p>"YOU BITCHES! YOU WHORES! I'LL KILL YOU BOTH!"<p>

"Out of my way, peoples!"

Millie went dived left, right through a throng of 'peoples' that had entered through the emergency exit.

"There's something you don't see every day," Tex muttered, hiding Juliet from view with his massive frame (though he had nothin' on her brother).

"Nah, you're usually just too hungover to notice most of the time," Juliet whispered. "Think you can get me into the ring? I want to cause a scene!"

"Wait for it..." the African American warned her. Ramona hadn't taken the banging-the-pots-and-pans-right-next-to-the-poor-ol'-wrestler's-ears thing too well. Some people and their tempers... Thankfully, she was going for the easier target first. "Run for it, Princess."

Juliet crossed the floor in two bounds, jumping right into the middle of an ongoing match between her two other male colleagues. "Hey, boys. How 'bout you guys try to kill me before that crazy girl over there does? That way it'll almost be a challenge."

* * *

><p>"Ramona, Millie! I'm tryin' ta run a business here!" Max Mallo roared, wincing an apology to the group at the door. Due to years spent travelling from Spain to Mexico to America and back again, his accent was dripping with a twinge of espanol, the infamous Brooklyn dialect, and a Texan twang he'd recently picked up from their resident Texan guy (Tex). "How may I be of help to y'all? Show doesn't start til five in the evenin'."<p>

"We're...Crime Scene Investigators," said the apparent boss guy, a man with pepper grey hair.

"My visa's fine," Max said, wary now. _What the hell? If Millie's done something to my car, I swear I'll..._

"We're not here about your visa, sir – "

"Has Millie done something with my car? I'm gonna kill that girl – Millie, get your ass over here!"

"Um, we're not here about 'Millie', either." The boss-guy shot a glance at the woman beside him, who gave the tiniest of shrugs. "The co-owner of this theatre, Mister Andrews, was killed last night. A passing couple found him and called the police."

Max backed up. "I didn't do nothin'. Didn't like the guy, sure, but if you're here 'cause of me – "

"Everyone's a suspect, sir, but we haven't got anything incriminating on you. Yet," the lady interjected quickly.

"Oh. OK. Sounds good. Ramona! You kill my sister, you owe me a drink!"

"Gotcha, boss," Ramona called, tossing Millie over her shoulder, continuing to let the younger Mallo fall to the ground with a thud. Then she froze, rolling her shoulders as she stared at the ring. "JULIET!"

"Y'all go look for clues wherever you want. Us, we're just passing through here – don't have nothin' to do with any of this mess," Max said, heading over to the door to check his sister's pulse.

* * *

><p>"What d'you think?" Warrick muttered. "Humble idiot?"<p>

"Maybe..." Grissom frowned, staring at the ring as the three trouped across the venue. Aisles of chairs lined the walls. The stage was now a wrestling ring. Dominating the ring were two men and the same woman who'd been screaming at the aforementioned 'Millie'. A blonde-haired young girl was dodging punches and headbutts as if she'd choreographed the fight – but it was stage wrestling, of course. It was all choreographed. Still, though...everyone was 'acting' a little too well.

"Sara, Warrick, you two process the rooms upstairs. I'll have a word with the suspects."

Warrick and Sara looked at each other, classically dubious. In unison, they chimed, "Well, good luck" and "Yeah, good luck with that, Gris."

It was all part of the plan – for her, anyway. Her three opponents had abandoned theatrics for her because she was the special case. No one had ever beaten Juliet in a fair fight, and everyone tried now-and-again. Then again, a fight against a weapon like her was hardly fair at all...

With a last pirouette, she sprang off the railing. She propelled herself at Ramona, hard enough to knock her over without causing any serious damage. In a domino effect, the force of Ramona's fall caused Darren to stumble. In a lightning-quick move, Juliet bounced onto him, locked her legs around his neck and brought him, too, crashing to the ground. He lay there, winded like Ramona.

In the meantime, Juliet threw Eric over her shoulder, landing a foot on his stomach so as to prevent movement. "Do I win again, or do you guys want me to count to five?"

"Fuh...fuh...freak!" Ramona hissed.

"Love you too, babes." Juliet froze.

_Clap. Clap. Clap._

"That was stunning, though it seems a bit too realistic stage-wrestling wise from my perspective."

"Um..." said Juliet, unsure of what else to say. Trying to catch her off guard (which she _never _happened to be), Eric tried to grab her leg. She punched his neck and he rolled over and groaned.

"Juliet's like that, sir. She has a black belt." Tex shot her a look down from the 'audience'. "So I hear."

"So you 'hear'?" the stranger repeated. He sounded off-hand. Trying to start a conversation, even. But something wasn't right. Juliet had been around the block enough to tell when people were phishing for information. Literally – Madame Ko had tested her through conversations – if Juliet passed while convincingly disallowing any personal information to filter through her facade, she could leave early and go to lunch. If she didn't, Madame Ko made her dodge bricks. Lethal or what?

"Juliet's a recluse."

"I'm not," Juliet said haughtily.

"She's a socially active recluse."

"And I only sign autographs after the show," Juliet added. "It's at five this evening."

"I'm aware," the stranger informed her with a thin smile. It wasn't unfriendly – anything but, actually. But she'd gathered he was here on business. "I'm Gil Grissom, Crime Scene Investigator."

"I'm Juliet Butler and I'm totally legal."

Her four colleagues in the room gave a simultaneous snort of derision. Juliet frowned. "So, what are you here for?"

"Murder." Grissom shrugged. "Well, the solving of."

"Those two other...officers. They're with you, right?"

Grissom tilted his head to the side. "You saw them?"

Juliet shrugged. "I pay attention to detail. They went upstairs. Who died?"

"Mister William Andrews. You all know him?"

Another few snorts.

"Oh...yeah, we know him." Juliet cocked an eyebrow. "Seems like a stupid person to kill." She climbed off the stage. "There're at least ten million other jerks like him on this continent alone. I'll be in my office with a curling iron!" she called, making for the door.

"Can it wait, Miss Butler? My team is processing the upstairs rooms as we speak."

Juliet froze. It felt as though someone had just stabbed her with a hairpin. "Which room?"

When Grissom spoke again, she could tell he knew he'd gotten something out of her. "The middle one."

Juliet swore and bolted out of the room. Grissom attempted to keep up with her.

* * *

><p>The letter was torn out of Warrick's hand just after he'd finished reading it. Sara was hunched on the floor by the window. "You're Juliet, I'm guessing?"<p>

"Does your warrant entitle you to snoop through my mail?" The blonde made a 'hmmph!' sound, stomping to the adjourning bathroom.

"We've found a substantial amount of GSR," Sara said, not sounding impressed in the least. There was a box beside her, a '_JB_' engraved onto the lid. Any second, Juliet would discover it was missing from the bathroom.

"And...what else?" a winded Grissom asked, struggling to catch his breath.

Just as Sara took the gun from the box, Juliet stuck her head out the bathroom door. "Have you guys seen - ?"

Sara stared at her. "We've found the murder weapon."

Juliet sighed. "I'm not in trouble, am I?"


End file.
